The partly state-owned firm said the sale of 12 million barrels of its Castilla crude represents "the strengthening of the commercial strategy to supply crude oil to end users."

For its first shipment to India, Ecopetrol has chartered one of the state-of-the-art oil tankers in the VLCC (Very Large Crude Carriers) category.

The tanker set sail from Colombia to India on July 29 with a 2 billion-barrel load of crude and the voyage would take at least 35 days.

The deal was the latest export diversification move by Ecopetrol, which has been expanding client base to several countries in Africa, Europe and Asia since 2008 while the U.S. and Canada remains its top buyers.

The latest contract would also help the firm "consolidate experience in shipping crude on long routes, which opens the doors to new business in the Middle and Far East."

Ecopetrol's exports increased by some 17 million dollars or 23.3 percent in the first six months of 2012, compared with the same period of last year.

Chinese men´s national team continued its preparations for next year´s Asian Cup, as they managed a one-all draw against visitors Jordan during a football friendly in Harbin, the capital city of Northeast China´s Heilongjiang Province.China held to 1-1 draw by Jordan

Across the UK the hunt is on for James Foley’s killer, who authorities believe is a British national. As Richard Bestic reports from London, Prime Minister David Cameron cut short his summer break to lead his government’s response.

As the protests in the town of Ferguson, Missouri turned violent with police facing ´heavy gunfire´ from some ´criminal elements´, cops fired tear gas, stun grenades and arrested 31 demonstrators on Monday night.